The 30 highest-paid golfers of all time
Andrew Redington/Getty Images
- We ranked the top 30 golfers of all time based on career earnings on the PGA Tour and European Tour combined.
- Not surprisingly, Tiger Woods is at the top and it is not even close.
- There are a lot of names that would likely surprise most fans, even near the top of the list.
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Professional golfers can have careers that are highly lucrative.
Their careers can last well into their 40s and 50s and there are events nearly year-round with tours all over the world. That means lots of opportunities to take home a paycheck.
Below, we take a look at the 30 highest-paid golfers of all time. The list is skewed towards recent players, but there is a mix of both current and previous generations, as well as both PGA Tour and European Tour greats.
Both PGA Tour and European Tour earnings include winnings from majors and WGC events. However, those events are only counted once in each golfer's total earnings.
Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
Nationality: South Korea
PGA Tour earnings: $32.7 million
European Tour earnings: €5.6 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 9
29. Brandt Snedeker - $39.8 million (€32.7 million)Darren Carroll/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $39.3 million
European Tour earnings: €5.0 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 10
28. Stewart Cink - $39.9 million (€33.5 million)Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $39.8 million
European Tour earnings: €9.1 million
Major championships: 1 (2009 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 8
27. Charles Howell III - $40.8 million (€34 million)Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $40.7 million
European Tour earnings: €2.7 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 3
25. Rickie Fowler - $41.8 million (€34.7 million)AP Photo/Eric Gay
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $39.3 million
European Tour earnings: €10.2 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 7
24. David Toms - $42.0 million (€37.2 million)Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $41.9 million
European Tour earnings: €8.0 million
Major championships: 1 (2001 PGA Championship)
Overall wins: 15
26. Jordan Spieth - $44.7 million (€34.3 million)Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $44.3 million
European Tour earnings: €11.1 million
Major championships: 3 (2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open, 2017 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 14
23. Paul Casey - $47.3 million (€37.8 million)Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Nationality: England
PGA Tour earnings: $33.3 million
European Tour earnings: €21.0 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 16
22. Padraig Harrington - $45.1 million (€38.2 million)Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Nationality: Ireland
PGA Tour earnings: $25 million
European Tour earnings: €26.1 million
Major championships: 3 (2007 and 2008 Open Championship, 2008 PGA Championship)
Overall wins: 21
21. Ian Poulter - $45.9 million (€38.5 million)AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Nationality: England
PGA Tour earnings: $26.6 million
European Tour earnings: €26.2 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 15
20. Steve Stricker - $44.8 million (€39.1 million)David Cannon/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $44.8 million
European Tour earnings: €8.1 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 13
19. Retief Goosen - $44.7 million (€39.7 million)Michael Cohen/Getty Images
Nationality: South Africa
PGA Tour earnings: $31.3 million
European Tour earnings: €22.1 million
Major championships: 2 (2001 and 2004 U.S. Open)
Overall wins: 21
18. Zach Johnson - $46.9 million (€39.8 million)Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $46.9 million
European Tour earnings: €9.5 million
Major championships: 2 (2007 Masters, 2015 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 26
17. Davis Love III - $44.9 million (€39.9 million)Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $44.9 million
European Tour earnings: €6.8 million
Major championships: 1 (1997 PGA Championship)
Overall wins: 22
16. Bubba Watson - $48.2 million (€40.1 million)AP Photo/Ryan Kang
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $46.5 million
European Tour earnings: €12.4 million
Major championships: 2 (2012 and 2014 Masters)
Overall wins: 16
15. Jason Day - $48.8 million (€40.1 million)AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Nationality: Australia
PGA Tour earnings: $48.6 million
European Tour earnings: €12.1 million
Major championships: 1 (2015 PGA Championship)
Overall wins: 17
13. Luke Donald - $49.5 million (€43.7 million)Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Nationality: England
PGA Tour earnings: $36.4 million
European Tour earnings: €18.3 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 12
14. Lee Westwood - $51.9 million (€44.1 million)Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Nationality: England
PGA Tour earnings: $23 million
European Tour earnings: €38 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 44
12. Matt Kuchar - $53.8 million (€43.8 million)AP Photo/Ng Han Gua
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $52.6 million
European Tour earnings: €10.6 million
Major championships: 0
Overall wins: 10
11. Henrik Stenson - $53.9 million (€44.4 million)Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Nationality: Sweden
PGA Tour earnings: $30.4 million
European Tour earnings: €31.6 million
Major championships: 1 (2016 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 17
10. Adam Scott - $63.2 million (€51.3 million)Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Nationality: Australia
PGA Tour earnings: $56.1 million
European Tour earnings: €20.3 million
Major championships: 1 (2013 Masters)
Overall wins: 31
6. Ernie Els - $66.8 million (€59.3 million)Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Nationality: South Africa
PGA Tour earnings: $49.3 million
European Tour earnings: €31.2 million
Major championships: 4 (1994 and 1997 U.S. Open, 2002 and 2012 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 47
8. Sergio Garcia - $68.7 million (€57.9 million)Ross Kinnaird/Getty
Nationality: Spain
PGA Tour earnings: $52.7 million
European Tour earnings: €31.2 million
Major championships: 1 (2017 Masters)
Overall wins: 35
4. Jim Furyk - $71.4 million (€61.6 million)Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $71.4 million
European Tour earnings: €14.1 million
Major championships: 1 (2003 U.S. Open)
Overall wins: 18
5. Justin Rose - $71.7 million (€60.9 million)Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Nationality: England
PGA Tour earnings: $54.7 million
European Tour earnings: €27.1 million
Major championships: 1 (2013 U.S. Open)
Overall wins: 21
9. Dustin Johnson - $72.7 million (€55.7 million)AP Photo/Eric Gay
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $71.2 million
European Tour earnings: €18.8 million
Major championships: 2 (2016 U.S. Open, 2020 Masters)
Overall wins: 34
7. Rory McIlroy - $75.3 million (€63.3 million)Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Nationality: Northern Ireland
PGA Tour earnings: $54.9 million
European Tour earnings: €36.9 million
Major championships: 4 (2011 U.S. Open, 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 32
3. Vijay Singh - $75.9 million (€67.4 million)Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Nationality: Fiji
PGA Tour earnings: $71.4 million
European Tour earnings: €14.4 million
Major championships: 3 (1998 and 2004 PGA Championship, 2000 Masters)
Overall wins: 34
2. Phil Mickelson - $94.6 million (€84.6 million)Julio Cortez/AP
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $92.3 million
European Tour earnings: €27.7 million
Major championships: 5 (2004, 2006, and 2010 Masters, 2005 PGA Championship, 2013 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 54
1. Tiger Woods - $127.2 million (€108.7 million)Ryan Kang/AP
Nationality: United States
PGA Tour earnings: $120.8 million
European Tour earnings: €47.5 million
Major championships: 14 (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2019 Masters, 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2007 PGA Championship, 2000, 2002, and 2008 U.S. Open, 2000, 2005, and 2006 Open Championship)
Overall wins: 121
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